Love Island 2024 has come to a close after weeks of romantic waffles, defining who is and isn’t a prize, and comparing people to sweets, but something was missing and fans think Joey Essex is to blame.
After the soppy finale which made history by crowning Mimii Ngulube and Josh Oyinsan the champions, viewers had one question.
No, it wasn’t, who’s Emma? or do the islanders know yet that we’ve got a new prime minister? But instead, what happened to a key feature of the ITV series that usually marks the end of the series?
In previous years, the loved-up couples are sent out on extravagant final dates to celebrate finding a love match (or at least someone to post joint Instagram ads with for the next eight months, before sharing a statement to say it’s over but they wish each other the best on Instagram stories).
Over the years we’ve seen some pretty impressive scenes that appear to have been taken straight out of a rom-com.
Camilla Thurlow and Jamie Jewitt literally performed a dance in the style of La La Land – yellow dress and all, while Tash Ghouri and Andrew Le Page had an impressive beach date, modelled on Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker’s engagement featuring a heart built out of rose petals. Other stand-outs include Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury dining in a castle, and Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti getting serenaded by Alfie Boe in a colosseum-style setting.
Of course, there have been some misses too – the less said about Faye Winter and Teddy Soares having to reflect on their journey while standing in a giant bath filled with petals, the better.
Instead this year, the boys were sent to the local corner shop to pick up supplies, before cooking their purchases themselves in the villa.
Nicole Samuel and Ciaran Davies ate nachos on the terrace, while Matilda Draper and Sean Stone tucked into undercooked chips at the breakfast bar. As cutesy as they were, flinging some crisps, salsa and cheese in a microwave was never going to compete with the planning gone into the years gone by.
The finalists tucked into a communal dinner on their last night before standing up to share their declarations of love. In the previous series, the kind words were said under a wedding altar-like set-up and they danced together at a ball after taking lessons.
The changes did not go unnoticed by viewers, who had a theory on why the annual traditions were absent.
Joey is the first celebrity islander to feature in a civilian series, and fans have concluded that the fee attached to his appearance (for the record, ITV have not commented on whether he was paid more for his inclusion than his co-stars) that could have left the producers without cash to pay for the slap-up meals at fancy locations.
‘Final dates used to look like this yk. They really blew the budget with Joey,’ said Emmas Mayt on X.
Zoe Hannah Grace added: ‘The final dates are in a villa? They spent their budget on Joey Essex cause what??? We used to have yachts, dinners with famous singers.’
‘Whoever controls the LI budget is just reckless, no final dates, communal dinner, but you can afford Eve [the singer performed in the villa], flying out all the dumped islanders and Joey and all his exes. Be fr,’ remarked Issa.
‘Not them having a table around the fire pit instead final dates, and no final dance ball, they used all their budget on Joey Essex,’ scathed Tasha Louise.
Wendy was equally flabbergasted: ‘I still can’t get over their final dates like the WHOLE budget this year went to Joey Essex!!! KMT!!!’
‘What happened to the budget? They really used that budget on Joey Essex? I can’t believe those were the final dates. Man, season 11 truly something. No words,’ summarised Kiki Jasmine.
However, Metro.co.uk understands that ITV was trialling different ideas this year, including a different way of dumping a couple (more on that in the next paragraph), and the lack of final dates is not linked to Joey.
It’s fair to say that the element was missed by viewers, and that Joey’s presence has been divisive. The former Only Way Is Essex star was booted out of the villa just a day before the final after his fellow islanders (who’d been flown out for the occasion) decided he was least compatible with Jessy Potts in a savage dumping.
Prior to his exit, viewers were frustrated by how the 34-year-old treated other islanders, including his former flame Grace Jackson.
Well at least the man himself has ‘no regrets’.
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